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Nouzaret sparks Guinean revival

Qualification for the CAF Africa Cup of Nations Ghana 2008
has helped Guinea head back in the direction of the record FIFA
Coca-Cola World Ranking they enjoyed at the start of the year.

A 4-0 defeat of Cape Verde Islands, in which all the goals
arrived in the first half, was the catalyst for their recent climb
of 12 places to 30th position on the FIFA Coca/Cola World Ranking.
That is just eight places off Guinea's all-time high of 22nd,
where they proudly sat at the start of this year.

They did, however, tumble down the chart just one month later,
dropping a dramatic 40 places when the points from their
quarter-final place at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations Egypt 2006
fell away.

Thereafter, the
Syli Nationale have been slowly working their way back up
the ladder. After their opening two Ghana 2008 qualifiers, Guinea
had picked up just a single point and fired coach Patrice Neveu as
they starred at the stark possibility of missing out on
qualification.

But in his place came the veteran French coach Robert Nouzaret,
who managed to turn around their fortunes and secure their passage
to the continental finals courtesy of wins over Gambia and Algeria
in the qualifiers. In the end, Guinea picked themselves up off the
basement of the standings and finished top of their pool, three
points clear of the second-placed Algerians.

The Guinea side revolves around the axis of imposing defender
Dianbobo Balde, the finishing ability of Fode Mansare and, most
importantly, the crafty midfield skills of captain Pascal
Feindouno, arguably the finest player to ever come out of the west
African country. The Saint Etienne ace excelled as his team reached
the quarter-finals at Egypt 2006, and he was the motivating force
in their comeback in the 2008 qualifiers.

Aside from Feindouno, Nouzaret has set about uncovering fresh
talent in recent months, using friendlies against Tunisia and
Senegal to try out new combinations. Among the newcomers is
French-born Kevin Constant of Toulouse, Finnish-based Mohamed
Fofana and Norman Sylla, who plays his club football in
Belgium.

Guinea remain a side of persistent potential. Nouzaret's
mission is to try and stabilise them among the continent's
elite. The CAF Africa Cup of Nations finals will provide the
tactician with this opportunity, which seems a possibility given
the presence of players like Ismael Bangoura, Morlaye Cisse and
Ibrahima Camara, who have all displayed the hallmarks of future
African stars.

Guinea's halcyon days are now more than three decades old,
when they were runners-up at the Africa Cup of Nations finals in
1976 and when their top club side Hafia won the old-style African
Champions Cup. With their recent emergence of playing talent, there
is every reason to believe that
Syli Nationale can reach those heights once
again.